Against His Will
by keigojin
Summary: (1xR)and other pairings.(Temporarily on HOLD until April) An assassination attempt on Relena brings Heero back to her side, but Relena is no longer a compliant young girl, if he wants to protect her he's going to have to fight the raging battles within hi
1. The Assasination Party

Summary: (1xR. Mentioned 3x4, 5xS, 2xHS) and other pairings. An assassination attempt on Relena brings Heero back to her side, but Relena is no longer a compliant young girl, if he wants to protect her he's going to have to fight the raging wars within himself and a very stubborn Relena.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Gundam Wing or any of it's characters swoons over thoughts of owning Heero, Duo and Zechs So please don't sue.

Special thanks to Redaura for beta reading even though it was against her pairing principles. Enjoy...

_The Assasination Party_

Relena Peacecraft eyed the neat stack of files on her desk, resisting the urge to bang her head against the polished Cedar surface. "I hate paperwork!" She muttered dejectedly, sifting through the labelled folders. "Am I the only one who can authorise anything around here?!" She exclaimed, kneading the tension from her forehead, first with fingers and then knuckles. The Vice Foreign Minister of the Earth's Unified Nation frowned, turning cobalt blue eyes toward the windows.

It had taken a long and arduous two years to heal the damage done during Marimaea's revolt, it may have been a short uprising, grave damage not only to Earth and Colony relations, but to finical security. It felt like she'd spent the first year of peacetime discussing statutes with the Colony delegates and agreeing to trade agreements.

In reality, it was a small price to pay, especially when you considered what some people had been made to sacrifice to attain that lasting peace.

A memory sprang, unbidden, to mind. The audible click of an empty gun being fired in the underground bunker, a small sigh as Marimaea lost consciousness and an injured Heero announcing in an unsteady voice. "I won't kill anyone, ever again... I don't have to anymore." He had surrendered to injury and fatigue then, falling into Relenas' arms.

She closed her eyes, willing the pain of this particular recollection away and trying to swallow the sudden lump in her throat. It didn't matter that it had been two years since she'd seen him; Gundam Pilot, perfect soldier, the dark enigma that had stolen her heart, haunted her dreams and plagued most of her waking moments; the person she was irrevocably in love with. "Stupid, Stupid!" She told herself aloud. "It's obvious he didn't reciprocate your love. He disappeared for gods sake, probably to get away from you!" And who could blame him, a snide voice whispered from the depths of her psyche. Think of all the times he had to rescue you because you went off and made some foolhardy decision, and the way you chased him around like a love sick puppy when he had much more important things to worry about. Hardly the actions of the dignified Vice Foreign Minister. You were pathetic!

That was then, she thought, ignoring the festering voice of self-loathing. I'm not that girl anymore; I've grown and changed. She sighed, gaze returning to the documents still waiting for her on the desk. It's just a shame you aren't around to see how much, Heero. She settled into her seat, opening the first file. Brooding about the past wouldn't change it, better she do something to take her mind off it instead.

Sometime later a knock sounded, rousing Relena from the proposal she'd been reading through. She looked up just in time to see Dorothy Catalonia waltzed through the door and close it behind her. Still blonde, beautiful and obnoxious as ever, Dorothy had joined the Ministry shortly after the Marimaea situation, an 'unwanted position' of which she frequently bitched about, yet from the enthusiasm and dedication to her post Relena was left with little doubt that Dorothy enjoyed terrifying the department into submission. Dorothy raised curious eyebrows. "You've forgotten." She stated a moment later, scrutinising her superior's attire.

Relena grimaced, confusion clouding her face. "What?" She asked, returning the favour and inspecting her unofficial assistants choice of apparel.

Dorothy rolled her eyes. "You have forgotten!" She repeated, voice more emphatic than before.

Completely bewildered now, Relena only glared, awaiting the sardonic enlightenment that usually followed after Dorothy got tired of three word sentences, she just hoped it was sooner rather than later, she still had heap of progress reports to contend with. Surely enough, Dorothy grew weary of her dramatic statements not drawing sufficient response. "The Du Lac Benefit." Dorothy said, voiced laced with her usual condescending manor.

The Vice Foreign Ministor scrabbled to her feet, paper work forgotten completely in a rush of panic "That's not until till tonight!" She blurted.

Dorothy scoffed, shaking her head before pointing an elegant digit towards the clock on the wall . "It is tonight!"

"Oh no!"

"Oh yes," intoned Dorothy. "And if we don't go now, the guest of honour is going to be late."

Relena smacked a hand to her forehead, looking to her friend. "Where's my dress?"

"I took the liberty of calling by your house before I came to remind you." Dorothy informed her with a sly smile. "It's waiting for you in the car."

"You're a life saver." Relena replied, already halfway out the door. The blonde girl smiled wider, and with a swish of her platinum locks followed after her.

The Du Lac benefit was a function hosted by Pierre and Colette Du Lac, two very wealthy VIP's who liked to appear humanitarian to their voters by having a money raising banquet for War victims. Relena had been the guest of honour at every benefit since she had been re-instated as Vice Foreign Minister. It _was_ a good cause after all, even though their host's motives for holding the reception were seriously questionable.

"Now, now Vice Foreign Minister, no maligning the hosts, " Dorothy began, reading Relenas' expression. "And do try and keep the snide comments to a minimum."

"Malign? Snide? Me?" Relena echoed, the picture of innocence. Dorothy only laughed, heading toward a rather attractive male across the room, who was self assuredly hailing her with insistent hand gestures.

In the days before the war she would have revelled at such a social occasion, she had been Relena Darlian then, popular schoolgirl with an undemanding life and a carefree future. Now she was Relena Peacecraft, Vice Foreign Minister of the Earth's Unified Nation, responsible for maintaining peace, and lumbered with a string of obligations that sometimes made her feel like she was drowning in the politics of it all. She didn't enjoy social events anymore; she just tried to survive them.

Stifling a yawn, it was amazing how exhausting sitting behind a desk all day could be, she waded into the crowd, murmuring polite hellos to nameless faces as she passed and searching the sidelines for familiar ones, she gave an audible sigh as she felt the presence of Darcy at her back. Somehow a six foot tall wall of muscle didn't instil the the Vice Foreign Minister with an air of approachablity , or should that be thankfully, Relena mused, shrugging the thought away. Her brother had insited she have a bodyguard with her at all times, well, her brother, Lucrezia and Lady Une had _demended, _actually, and since Relena had been too tired to argue the point, the decision had been made for her, and Darcy had materialised on her doorstep the day after the debate.

It didn't take long for her to near the Buffet table, she was just about to give up all hopes of finding a desirable aquiantance when she heard a blithe voice announce. "He looks like George Washington." Relena grinned, catching sight of a thigh length braid. She recognised the owner of voice and braid almost immediately, there was, after all, only one boy who could sport such a feminine weave and make it look so completely masculine.

"Who looks like Washington?" She asked, closing in on one of the only people who could make such gatherings bearable.

Duo nimbly turned to face her, spinning Hilde on his arm. Both were laughing. "Hey Peace Queen, how's politics?" The former Gundam Pilot replied, tone full of humour and good cheer.

"Just political." Relena rebuked, marvelling on how much better she felt by just being around her friends. "Who looks like Washington?" She repeated, searching the direction they'd been facing before she'd interrupted.

"Mrs Kensington," supplied Hilde, pointing to an overly tall, dark haired woman in a pink mink coat. "You know, General Chambers sister."

She did resemble the former President, Relena thought, trying to muffle strangled laughter. "I can't deny it." She gasped, when most of her chuckling had abated. "When did you arrive?" "About twenty minutes ago." Duo answered, casting an annoyed glance to his left. "And only because someone, found the car keys too early!"

Hilde glanced at him, unsympathetic. "Oh suck it up Maxwell, the sooner we got here the sooner we could leave." Relena chuckled, listening intently as they baited each other playfully.

Time seemed to fly by as she fell into an easy conversation with the couple. Duo and Hilde's Mechanical Maintenance and Repair business was flourishing, as was their blossoming relationship it appeared. Relena told them all about her new Labrador puppy, Kujo, and suffered through Duo laughing his ass off at the namesake. After they picked at the selection of foods the buffet offered, engaging in party pleasantries with anyone who stopped by, and gossiped about how Sally Po had been housetraining Wufei.

It was close to nine thirty when a purely flustered Quatre materialised beside the trio. He was dressed to conform to the dress code, a 'penguin suit', only with his own flair. His was a rich and vibrant blue. It clashed with his crimson cheeks and nervous hand jestures. Predictably it was Duo that called him on it. "Hey Q-man, what's with the fluch?"

It was a quiet, but amused voice from behind the blonde who answered. "He had a rather embarrassing run in with the Edward twins." Trowa Barton was not the most loquacious member of their group, but he could always be relied upon to make the constantly composed heir of the Winner family blush his way into oblivion.

"Let me get this straight." Hilde started, bemused. "You can handle a moody ex gundam pilot as a boyfriend, stare down a Boardroom full of heartless cut throats every week and be mothered by every one of your twenty nine sisters daily. But you can't fend off two gold digging sirens?"

"Well I... You know what..." He stuttered, face growing redder by the second. "And you didn't help." He retorted eventually, glaring at a grinning Trowa.

Relena smiled, sending a silent thank you out to whoever it was who had blessed her by giving her the opportunity to befriend these people. However her gratitude was cut short as one of the stewards from the benefit came to escort here to the stage, a hulking Darcy close at her side. It was time for her annual speech. Pointless words, she thought as she mounted the stage at the front of the hall and placated the audience with a smile. She opened her mouth to begin with a usual ice breaking joke and smiled as Duo waved a thumbs up in her direction.

It took only half a second for Relena to look down at the podium before she returned her eyes to her audience. It proved too be half-a-second too long as the echo of a familiar green grenade permeated the expectant silence of the crowd.

Relena barely had time to register exactly what had fallen from the rafters when a heavy weight collided with her body. She heard rather than saw the explosion lurch the room into chaos. She turned her head catching blurry images of politicians being sent sprawling to the floor from the force of the blast the debris of the stage cascading them in dust and wood.

She dragged her eyes from the panic and disorder back to the weight pining her to the parquet floor, expecting to see the familiar figure of Darcy.

She felt her breath catch as Prussian blue eyes stared back at her.

"H...Heero?" She stammered, voice barely louder than a whisper.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: So this is my first Gundam Wing fic EVER. Do me a favour and R N R please, I need to know if I can compose a decent story, or whether I need to be put out of my misery. Oh and if you don't review I'm so holding Heero hostage.

Heero: hn...

See, he's scared.

Heero: ...

Also there is a little problem with beta reading, although my frined Redaura has agreed to beta read for me she is a shameless 1x2 fan, not that there's anything wrong with it, hell I like a good 1x2 fic so long as it's well written, but this means she isn't thrilled to be reading a 1xR fic so if anyone is willing to beta read my scribble please send me an e-mail, thanks ;oD


	2. Personal

Chikyuu Defender Beyblader - Thanks, I love praise. We also have a few things in common, I love the Year of the Cat books but I think I read them when I was like fourteen and haven't been able to find them in my Library since. Oh yeah, I also love Yu-Gi-Oh and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but then I think nearly everyone I've ever talked to on does. Thanks again for the review and keep reading.

Cleverwitch – As I've said above, I love praise. Thanks.

Stalker of Dreamz – You've made some good points, I need constructive criticism and pointers, I will do my best to follow your advice, but I'm afraid I've got that bad habit of adopting a screwy style and not being able to adjust. Oh and just so you know, you're a bad influence, I checked your profile and ended up reading nearly all of your favourite stories. Keep reading plz, thanks for the review.

MissAnnThropy2600 – Yeah the formatting was tricky, thanx for your offer of beta reading, this doesn't mean you're allowed to stop reviewing though ; o)

Reignashii – I shall try and keep my story interesting, I'm pretty sure you'd tell me if it was losing its lustre. Thanks for your review, keep it up.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Gundam Wing (Unfortunately) But I do worship it. So please don't sue.

Huge thanks go to Redaura and MissAnnThropy for beta reading. Don't forget to R & R, thanks...

The atmosphere inside the sleek black Preventer vehicle matched the climate on the outside, humid, quiet and stifling.

She wasn't exactly certain when her political vestige of propriety had evaporated; she only knew that over the last few years she had become accustomed to hiding her emotions and facial expressions behind a mask of careful consideration. That mask was now shattered. From the moment Heero had arrived at her side unforeseen, saving her life in a single spilt second instant...

It wasn't that she was particularly affected by the attack at the benefit, events such as the one demonstrated only a half hour ago were expected, and Relena had endured enough to know that possible assassination attempts and attacks were part of the job, it was never personal, just part of the territory when you were the Vice Foreign Minister of the ESUN. What Relena hadn't been prepared for was the sudden arrival of a certain intense individual who had been missing from her life for a momentous two years.

Heero had never saved her in the past, why now?

Speaking of said person, Relena cast a curious glance to her right. Beside her, Heero sat motionless, gaze focussed on the road outside his window, Prussian blue eyes still searching for threats that weren't coming. He was still the boy she had met on the beach three years ago. Contained, determined, with an air of indifference and a body that rippled with raw power.

Only he wasn't a boy anymore, he was...

A brief glance from her saviour prompted her to find the scenery outside her own window very interesting. It didn't however; stop a faint flush from colouring her cheeks. Ridiculous really, so much for her earlier claims of being changed.

"Hey," Duo called from the drivers seat. "Are you two okay back there?"

Her response was automatic. "Fine."

So was Heero's. "We're not being followed, head for Preventer Headquarters."

Duo snorted, voice laced with humour. "You got it, perfect soldier."

Judging from his expression Duo seemed to find his reply as predictable as she did. She sighed, something she had a habit of doing when she was annoyed or frustrated. Trust Heero Yuy to remain fixated on his mission, personal inquiries rejected and left at the door in favour of his objective. If she had changed, Heero definitely hadn't.

A faint melody filled in the silence as Duo hummed along to some tune or other floating through his head, the added reminder that she wasn't alone in the car with the perfect soldier did a lot to soothe her frayed nerves. It wasn't fair that his proximity could affect her like this. She was an adult. Her hormones should not be raging. There was no excuse.

He was imposing though, a careful voice argued from somewhere deep inside her mind, taller, with a better build that filled out his grey polo shirt and moulded black jeans to long muscular ...

On impulse her hand flew up to smack against her forehead. The answer was obviously no. A huge resounding no. She looked up, meeting both questioning stares of the cars other occupants, and blushed. Well damn! She thought she had that involuntary reaction under wraps. "Too much champagne at the benefit." She lied; the press certainly had something right, she mused randomly, as Heero returned his attention back to the window, politicians were accomplished grade A liars. The truth was, she rarely ever drank alcohol. But Heero didn't need to know that, she would rather he thought she was a raving alcoholic attending regular AA meetings than a spoilt, simpering little princess swooning over him.

The ex pilot of the Deathscythe raised a suspicious eyebrow. "But Rei, you never-"

"Shouldn't you be watching the roads?" She interjected, shooting her friend a look that said; "Finish that sentence and you're a dead man!"

Duo cast her his Devil May Care smile and gave nonchalant shrug. "Sure," his tone of voice indicating he knew the exact reason why she was blushing.

Well double damn! She fumed, she was Relena Darlain Peacecraft, Vice Foreign Minister of the ESUN, she faced down possible threats to the Earths peace everyday, persuaded the most stiff collared conservatives to bend to her will within the blink of an eye and, lunched with the Prime Minister on a regular basis. And yet here she was, floundering under the presence of the Perfect Soldier.

It was totally uncalled for.

Sighing again, she reflected on how impressive he had been after the initial attack, hauling her to her feet with gun in hand, ignoring the cries of others and dragging her toward the nearest exit while covering them. Duo awaiting them in the ally with the commandeered Preventers car. How they had co-ordinated this she could not fathom. All the same she was grateful for it. She had to idea were her usual guard detail was now. She hoped they hadn't been killed.

"Nearly there, boys and girls." Duo called over his shoulder, slowing the car as it cruised down one of the more familiar lanes to Relena.

"Wait!" Relena exclaimed, abruptly, a pointed question brimming forth from her befuddled consciousness. "Why are we going to Preventer Headquarters? Why aren't you taking me home?"

Heero answered, without looking at her. "Because it may not be a secure location."

It was her turn to snort, one of the many bad habits she had picked up from spending far too much time with Duo. She couldn't keep some derision from her voice as she replied "Heero, please. Lady Une has my house sealed up tighter than Fort Knox. I hardly think-"

This time Heero did look at her as he spoke. "I don't recall asking for your opinion."

From somewhere in the front of the car Duo chuckled. Relena could only stare, speechless. How dare he?! Was the only thought she could muster, she opened her mouth in an attempt to voice her outrage at being dismissed in such a manner. But stopped as the guard at the Headquarter outpost rushed from the station toward the car. Heero tensed, ready for action as Duo wound down the black plated windows.

"Mr Maxwell." The guard addressed, voice full of urgent questioning as he reached the car. "Is the Vice Foreign Minister with you?"

"Yeah, "he replied, winking in the rear view mirror for the benefit of those in the backseat. "Right now she seems to have lost her voice."

Relena was in the middle of spluttering when the guard's response cut her off. "Oh thank God for that!"

"What?" The words were out of her mouth before she could stop them.

The guard seemed caught between relief and sympathy. "I think Lady wants to be the one to tell you ma'am."

"No." Relena retorted, eyes narrowing. "What's going on? Why are you so relieved I'm here?"

"Well, ma'am, I'm sorry to have to tell you this." The guard stuttered. "But your house was attacked and blown up, not even ten minutes ago."

"Blown up...?" Her voice sounded hollow as she parroted the guards' revelation. Everything seemed to blur for a minute and she didn't hear the rest of the interaction between Heero, Duo and the guard properly. Her house attacked and blown up?

She wasn't aware of holding her breath until a steady hand touched her arm. She turned to look into the face of Heero Yuy. It occurred to her that he had suspected something like this was going to happen. She looked into the face of her first and only love and couldn't think of what it was she was supposed to say, it seemed too unreal.

"Relena?" Heero said, reaching a hand up to her brow.

"Shock?" Duo queried.

A nod as response. "Relena?" Heero repeated, tone firm as he shook her shoulders slightly.

Relena blinked. Turning wide eyes on Heero. "What about Peygan?"

Both men remained quiet, their uncertainty written plain on their faces. It took her a few seconds to register that this attack had just become personal.

AUTHORS NOTE: Okay so this chapter is way late in coming I know. I swear it's not all my fault. It has everything to do with viruses and corrupted data and having to have my hard drive wiped so please don't give me shit, I'm still mourning all the stuff I've lost off of my memory. I also know there was a lot of Relena in this chapter but I promise Heero, Duo and even Zechs play a bigger part in the next on so review, the more reviews the quicker I'll post.

Duo: Yeah right, blame your computer.

Duo?

Duo: What?

Shut up!

Heero: smirks

Duo: What are you smirking at?

Here they go, I better go and hide all of Heeros guns again, there's no stopping them when they get like this.


	3. Security Detail

Symee-sama – You'll just have to read on to find out about Peygan. As for Relena trying to kill Heero, you do remember why he's called the perfect soldier? There's going to be a lot more Heero comments along those lines.

Chikyuu-Defender-Beyblader – Thanks I love praise. I can understand the whole losing the urge to write. I can only start a chapter if I really want to, otherwise it sounds, for lack of a better word crap. Hope this chapter lives up to your expectations. Hoping to have more Heero Relena interaction in the next one.

c-vega – Poor Relena indeed. I'm glad you like

StalkerofDreamz – Peygan says he appreciates the moment of silence but you should read on before jumping to conclusions. Glad you liked the chapter, hope you like this one.

Hikari Aijuntani – I'm interested to see how their relationship pans out too, and I'm the writer. It's kind of disconcerting.

Cool mercury - I did update, eventually. Glad you like my story,

Wantinlife – Well here's the next chapter.

Morrighan of Crimson and Sable – Yes big trouble, you'll find out what's happened to peygan here. Keep reading.

Redaura – Shut up I'll lay the smackdown on your ass.

Harpee-Lady – Thanks I really need the inspiration, reviews help motivate. Read on to find out about peygan and the puppy.

Black-Gundam-Child – Thanks, glad you like it. I have updated.

TearsoftheInnocents – Yeah I kick ass, thanks. I have updated as you can see. Hope you like it. Keep reading and reviewing.

_Security Detail_

"I really don't see any other alternative." The foreign yet familiar voice stated, firmly.

Relena made a vague mental note that he had repeated that very sentence twenty seven times in the last hour or so she'd been confined in Preventer HQ. It was a brief thought, an interlude between the argument she and her companions had been waging since she'd roused herself from the empty numbness and shock she'd fallen victim to after tonight's revelations. "What do you mean you can't see any other alternative Heero?!" She demanded, striving to keep her voice down. "There are always other options!"

"Not in this case." He replied.

"What do you mean not in this case!" She reiterated, clenching her fists. They'd been in this god awful interrogation room for over two hours, two hours left to contemplate how many of her staff had died in the blast, to think about the severity of Peygans injuries, to ruminate over who the hell would hurt so many innocent people just to kill her, two hours to consider all this and stare at the plain grey walls while arguing with her companions. It was two hours she could have spent sitting by the bedside of Peygan, who had been found alive but who was now in the ICU unit at the local hospital. She shivered involuntarily at the thought, she wanted to visit him but her protectors had chorused a resounding "No!" And then proceeded to paralyse her with a list of "Why nots.". Two years of peace, and death still seemed to haunt her.

"What Heero means Vice Foreign Minister," Lady Une interjected. "Is that your personal safety outranks your wishes to remain in the public eye and continue conducting business."

Relena snapped her gaze to the front of the room, observing the other woman as she tried to inject a dose of sense and rationality into the tense atmosphere. Relena with held a frustrated sigh, Heero may have stripped her of some of her more obvious political sensibilities but she would be a poorPolitician if she couldn't restrain her emotions.The part of her brain that controlled logic told her that they were merely performing their duty as bodyguards, but another more irritating feeling was screaming, _they only want to protect their peacekeeping pawn._

Relena glared back at the Ppreventer Lieutenant. "So you all approve of Heero's plan?" She asked, breaking the stare down to cast her eyes around the room. "That I should run away with my tail between my legs and let the professionals handle my would be assassins?"

"That Peacecraft, is exactly what we've been saying." Wufei confirmed, leaning nonchalantly against the wall behind her.

From what Relena understood he had been on standby for the Preventers this evening, hence his attendance in this little situation, .His beau wan't as'lucky'. Sally had missed this 'discussion' as business had called her away to MO3 just after the attack. "You're so eloquent Wufei." She retorted, looking over her shoulder to accost the Preventer agent. "Tell me, if you were in my position would you turn and shirk your responsibilities?"

His glared back at her.

"Come on Rei." Duo interrupted, breaking of the potential showdown before his friends could turn each other to stone. "It's not like Heero's suggesting going into hiding indefinitely, I mean we could be talking a week or two here." He continued, a smile reaching his violet eyes. Relena could now fully appreciate what Hilde meant when she said that Duo plus his Devil-May-Care smile was the most irritating form of disarmament she'd ever encountered. " Think of it as a vacation," he advised. "You're always saying you'd like to take a break from the pompous speeches and equally pompous politicians."

"That's not the point." Relena argued. "If I go into hiding now the people will lose all respect for me. I'll be the Vice Foreign Minister who turns and abandons them in the midst of a crisis. I should stay in the public eye so I can support and guide the people."

"You'll be abandoning them permanently if you get yourself killed"

Caught off guard Relena turned her attention toward the back of the room where Heero stood, cool blue eyes capturing her gaze.

_Damn him!_ As a politician she was well aware of when she was being undermined, in this case, not only was she being undermined but her response was being made redundant.

The tense silence that followed held a ferocity that was matched only by the staring contest that ensued Any bloodshed was spared by a tentative knock at the door.

All eyes landed on the messenger"Ma'am, we have a call for you from Agent Barton ,he's reporting from the blast site."

"Patch it through to the vid -com." The Commander said, nodding a dismissal to theagent and closing the door to accept the call. Relena wasn't surprised to hear that Trowa and Quatrehad driven straight to thewreckage of her estateto assist in the rescue and current investigation.

Relena pushedher way through a wallof Preventer uniforms to view the vid - monitor, dreading the incoming repot" Situation?" Lady Une ordered.

"The remains of the explosive device suggests whoever installed it in the Vice Foreign Ministers home was a professional. There are no witness reports of anyone acting suspicious and considering the wreckage there is very little evidence to be found to implicate anyone." He paused, looking off somewhere to his right. " Up to now there are 11 confirmed mortalities and five casualties." With morbid fascination Relena wondered forthe umpteenth time how he could see out of his right eye.

Lady Une nodded. "Anything else of relevance?"

"Nothing else. " The agent replied, looking off to the right again as the sound of a muffled voice interrupted. A pregnant pause as Relena swallowed the bile that rose in her throat. She was starting to feel like Atlas; only instead of the world propped on her shoulders what she had was the world plus all of it's suffocating guilt, and then some.

Bottle green eyes returned to the screen. "Quatre want to know what you plan to do concerning Relena's safety?"

Relena fumed, if he should be asking anyone about her security it should be her. "I wish all of you would-"

"Heero has suggested that Miss Peacecraft should maintain a low profile and retire to a remote location until we have quashed this potential threat." Lady Une informed him.

_Stop talking about me like I'm not here. _Relena finished, her fury on the rise as she was, once again, hindered in her protests.

"That sounds like a good idea. " The platinum blonde head of Quatre replied as it popped into the screens range of vision. "She'll be much safer away from her usual places of residence, especially until they're checked for more incendiary devices."

"Just stop!" Relena cried, losing all semblance of her polite political vestige. "Whether you all realise it or not I am still here. How do you even know it's me they're after, this could just be a random…" Her voice trailed off as she observed a fleeting glance between Lady Une and the ex Gundam pilots. "What? What aren't you saying?"

"We didn't want to upset you anymore Rei," answered Duo. "But we got a letter after the bombing."

"And?" Relena implored, gaze darting around the room.

"And nothing Peacecraft." Wufei interjected, voice stern.

"What do you mean and nothing Peacecraft?! This is my life Wufei, it concerns me and I want to know about it."

"No Relena you don't." Heero's measured voice replied. "When you chose your life in the public eye you signed your safety over to your body guards. You put your physical and mental health into their hands so you have to trust that they know what's best for you." He continued, eyes once again fixed on hers. "You get to do your job everyday with the help and support of all those around you, even your security. Now return the favour and allow those who protect you to do there job!"

It was true, all of it.

She was being selfish… she knew it. It was her determined nature that was insisting that she argue against the logic of it all. So much for her having changed. And what if she wore down their argument and went back about her business, how many more people would die in the crossfire "Fine, " she conceded. "I'll go into hiding. For awhile."

"Finally she see's sense." Wufei actually rolled his eyes.

"Wufei, make the arrangements, you, Mr Maxwell and Yuy will be acting as the Vice Foreign Ministers bodyguards during her time on sabbatical" Lady Une instructed, Relena almost gave her brownie points for the tactical phrasing, maybe Une would have been a good politician

"Yes ma'am.' Wufei complied, heading for the door and closing it behind him with an audible click.

Duo raised an enquiring eyebrow. "Um, may I ask why me and Yuy are assigned to protect the peace queen when we aren't even agents?"

With a flick of her healthy brown head she looked toward the smart assed American. "Because Maxwell, it is imperative Miss Peacecraft is left in the care of those she trusts most. Considering your past connections with her I assumed you were the perfect persons for the job."

"Wow, I'm feeling special." Duo announced, smiling wide and winking at one of the most intimidating women Relena had ever encountered.

"Hey we're still here." A voice broke in, sounding slightly disjointed from static.

"Sorry Quatre, Barton. Was there anything else?" Lady Une asked, ignoring the inanely smiling Duo.

"Just that we've found Relena's puppy." Quatre piped up. "We've sent him off to the vetenarian but he should pull through."

Relena gave a sad smile. "Thanks Quatre."

The fair-haired ex pilot smiled back. "Don't mention it. We'll see you soon."

Trowa could be seen smiling minutely behind his partner. "I'll report to you as soon as we discover anything of relevance ma'am." He intoned, saluting.

With that Lady Une turned the vid – com off and began dispatching orders to Relena's new bodyguards.

The Vice Foreign Minister could only sit and listen vaguely. For someone who had been so in control of her life only hours ago she was starting to feel somewhat numb from the revelation that her control had just been decimated. Perhaps she was in shock again; perhaps she wanted to be.

The sounds of a polyphonic jingle jolted her from her daze. She frowned, looking at the offending pouch on the table. Just who the hell would call at a time like this?

"Relena are you alright?! I just heard from Noin about the explosion." A deep melodious voice asked as she snapped the phone open, the tone laced with heavy concern.

"I'm fine Milliardo." She answered with a sigh. It was going to be a long night.

AUTHORS NOTE

Thanks to Redaura for her Beta skills.

Wow so I finally updated, sorry it took so long, I did actually start this chapter awhile ago but then I kind of lost the inspiration to finish it. But I have finished. I hope you liked it. It seemed a bit long-winded and to me all about safety and the lark. But Heero's good at convincing Relena, I think his people skills have improved. Go Heero. Keep reviewing people, like I said it was your reviewing and Redaura's haranguing that helped me finish.


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